"Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first."

January 10, 2016January 10, 2016

Raspberry Eclairs

When 50 degree weather, rain, and closed ski mountains have become the norm this month, the dreary days need a bit of brightening up. These raspberry eclairs do the trick. Not only do they look impressive, but they taste just as good as they look (so said my friend who ate a bunch last night).

They may take slightly longer than other desserts to put together, but they are well worth the time, I promise. Instead of a traditional custard, which eclairs are typically filled with, I opted for a stabilized whipped cream flavored with honey and Framboise. The whipped cream is a lighter alternative to custard, and the gelatin whipped into the cream makes it so the whipped cream holds up better and doesn’t separate. The marbled glaze looks beautiful, and only takes about ten seconds to do. If you need to make your day a little brighter or just want an excuse to bake, these raspberry eclairs are the answer. Enjoy!

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Raspberry Eclairs

For the pâte à choux:

1 cup water

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 eggs plus 1 egg white

For the whipped cream:

4 teaspoons water

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon Framboise liquor

For the chocolate glaze:

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 pint raspberries

For the pâte à choux:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a sheet with parchment paper.

In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt and sugar to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat. Add all the flour at once and stir with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated (about 30-60 seconds).

Return to the heat and cook, continuously stirring until the dough forms a ball in the center of the pan (about 30 seconds). Scrape the mixture into a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. With the mixer running at medium speed, add 3 eggs, 1 egg at a time. Stop mixing after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add the remaining egg white and mix until incorporated.

Place dough in a pastry bag fitted with a large, round tip, and pipe 16 lengths of dough (about 2 1/2 inches long) on the lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between each length.

Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely.

For the whipped cream:

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and wait until the mixture has bloomed (the water will absorb the gelatin and become solid). Heat over low heat until the mixture becomes syrupy (about one minute). Set aside to cool slightly.

In a chilled bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Add in the honey and Framboise and beat until combined. With the mixer running, slowly add the gelatin mixture and beat until stiff peaks form.

For the glaze:

In two double boilers, melt the dark and white chocolate chips separately. (You can use a bowl set over a pot of boiling water for this).

Assembly:

Split eclairs horizontally and fill the bottom halves with the whipped cream. Slice the raspberries in half and layer on top of the cream. Dip the top halves of the eclairs in the dark chocolate and drizzle horizontal white chocolate lines on top. Drag a toothpick through the white chocolate lines vertically. Once the chocolate has hardened slightly, place the tops on the bottom halves of the eclairs.